ACS NEWS
Mergers, Restructurings Still Cutting Chemical Employment Michael Heylin, C&EN Washington
The latest report by ACS's Committee on Professional Relations on mass terminations of chemists and chemical engineers confirms a number of trends in the employment climate for chemical professionals that have become apparent in recent years. These include continuation of very large cutbacks in chemical work-forces triggered by overall corporate restructuring efforts; the growing impact of mergers and acquisitions on chemical employment; the continued vulnerability of older chemists in termination situations; and a tendency toward somewhat better, if still less than optimum, treatment of terminées. The report examines 10 mass terminations between March 1985 and December 1986. They involved a total of as many as 400 chemists and chemical engineers. Included is a cutback by Exxon Research & Development at Baton Rouge and at Linden, N.J., that cost the jobs of as many as 200 chemical professionals. Another is a retrenchment by Air Products & Chemicals in Allentown, Pa., that affected about 100 chemists.
ACS guidelines Advance notice. Four-week minimum. Severance pay. Minimum is two weeks per year of service. Additional notice may be given, by mutual agreement, in lieu of severance pay. Assistance. Efforts should be made to place terminée in another position within the organization, or terminée should be given assistance to find employment elsewhere. Pension plan vesting. Full vesting after 10 years' service.
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Mergers and acquisitions were the major factor in terminations involving C h e s e b r o u g h - P o n d ' s , Rorer Group, and Sandoz. These affected a total of more than 40 chemists. The remaining five terminations covered by the report involved 39 chemical professionals: 12 at Syntex, 10 at Farmland Industries, seven each at BASF and GTE Laboratories, and three at International Minerals & Chemical. All but one of the 10 terminations involved older chemists with more than 10 years of service. On the brighter side, however, the report indicates that terminées in general received treatment that was more closely in line with standards deemed appropriate by ACS than has been the case in earlier terminations. The new report also states that seven other mass terminations have been confirmed and are being investigated by CPR. These involve AMF Corp., Duracell, Kaiser Aluminum, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Miles Laboratories, OwensCorning Fiberglas, and H. G. Pars Pharmaceutical. CPR defines a mass termination as a situation in which the employEmployee service. Those with minimum of 10 years' service should not be terminated except for continued evidence of previously documented inadequate performance or cause. Employee protection plans. Should be extended for a minimum of one month, plus two weeks for each year of employee service, following termination at same rate of contribution as before. Employee would have additional 3 1 day grace period. Rehire privileges. Rehire privileges should be carefully explained to terminées.
ment of three or more chemists or chemical engineers is terminated by a single employer within a sixmonth period for reasons other than continuing evidence of previously d o c u m e n t e d i n a d e q u a t e performance, completion of a contract, or cause. Terminations do not have to be all at one location. The new report is the latest in a series of 25 that date back to 1974. They compare the performance of employers having terminations with seven standards contained in ACS's Professional Employment Guidelines (PEG). These standards cover advance notice, severance pay, assistance in finding new employment, pension vesting, employee service, protection plans, and rehire privileges. In the latest report these standards were complied with an average of 59% of the time. In the big Exxon termination, six of the seven standards were met. Air Products complied with five. These rates of compliance are considerably higher than the long-term average of 43% for the 240 or so terminations covered in the previous 24 reports. These reports, which are produced by CPR's Subcommittee on Professional Standards, are based on data collected from both employers and terminées. In the past about two t h i r d s of employers have b e e n willing to provide information. For the latest report, only Syntex declined to supply data. Data from terminées are gathered with the help of ACS local sections, For the latest report, assistance was received from the California, Chicago, Kansas City, Lehigh Valley, New Jersey, New York, Northeastern, and Wabash Valley sections. The level of response by terminées varied considerably. It represented a low percentage of the
age length of service of terminées providing information was more than 10 years. For ChesebroughPond's it was 18 years. This standard has been complied with relatively infrequently. More than three quarters of all terminaThese employers tions investigated to date have inprovided information cluded employees with 10 or more years of service. Over the past three Air Products & Chemicals (Ailentown, Pa.) years, 90% have. In the latest report, only Farmland I n d u s t r i e s BASF, chemical division avoided such terminations. (Holland, Mich.) Another standard with a relativeChesebrough-Pond's, Stauffer Chemical (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., ly poor compliance record is that and Richmond, Calif.) calling for two weeks of severance Exxon, Exxon Research & Engineering (Baton Rouge, pay per year of service. On average, and Linden, N.J.) only one in five employers has comFarmland Industries plied. But this has been improving (Kansas City, Mo.) in recent years. In the latest report four employers met or exceeded this GTE Laboratories (Waltham, Mass.) standard. Only one, Rorer Group, was judged by CPR to be substanInternational Minerais & Chemical tially below this standard. (Terre Haute, Ind.) The standard that requires emRorer Group/Revlon, Revlon ployers to explain any rehire priviHeafth Care (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) leges to terminées also has been Sandoz, Protection Corp. poorly complied with, an average (Chicago) of only 18% of the time. In the latest report, however, six of the 10 This employer provided no information; employers did. hence, all ratings based on terminée responses At the other end of the compliSyntex, Syntex Chemicals 12 ance scale are the standards calling (Newport, Tenn.) for full pension vesting after 10 years of service and for assistance • Employer met or exceeded guideline standard. in helping terminées find new em0 Two or more individuals below guideline standard, but average ployment. The pension vesting stanexperience better than "substantially b e l o w " criterion. dard has been met in almost all | Employer was substantially below guideline standard, w h i c h is defined as follows: cases in recent years, including all • Advance notice—less than two weeks. · Employee s e r v i c e — m o r e than 4 0 % 10 in the latest report. Farmland of terminées had 10 or more years Industries vested all of its terminées, • A s s i s t a n c e — n o assistance rendered. of service. although none of them had 10 years • Severance pay—less than one week • Protection p l a n s — n o continuation of service. Average compliance for per year of service. of protection plans. all of the reports is 85%. Complichemical professionals believed to three categories. These are, in com- ance with the assistance standard is have been affected by the larger pliance or better than the standard, also 100% in the latest report. This somewhat below the standard, and brings the long-term average up to terminations. // 70%. substantially // below. CPR asks individual members to Performance on the standard callFor instance, the standard on emsend information on terminations ing for a minimum of four weeks of ployee service states that those with they have knowledge of to American Chemical Society, Office of Pro- 10 or more years of service should advanced notice, or pay in lieu, has fessional Relations, 1155—16th St., not be terminated, except for docu- always been spotty, with an averN.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. This mented incompetence or cause. An age compliance of 39%. In the latest office will provide, on request, cop- employer is deemed by CPR to have report five employers complied. But ies of all CPR termination reports "substantially" violated this stan- two were deemed substantially beand a summary list of terminations dard if 40% or more of those termi- low par. Long-term compliance nated have such service. This has with the standard calling for conover the past decade. Over the years CPR has made sub- happened in 39% of all termina- tinuation of protection plans for at tle changes in the criteria it uses to tions investigated to date, includ- least a month beyond the severance assess the performance of employ- ing six of the 10 covered in the period is 50%. Five of the 10 employers covered in the latest report ers relative to the PEG standards. latest report. • In all six of these cases the aver- did so. But the committee has always used
Employer compliance with ACS guidelines
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